How to Make Money From Focus Groups amp Product Testing
How to Make Money From Focus Groups & Product Testing Skip to content
Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations have an average return of 397%. For $79 (or just $1.52 per week), join more than 1 million members and don't miss their upcoming stock picks. 30 day money-back guarantee. Sign Up Now Unsurprisingly, Americans’ daily media exposure nearly doubled from 1945 (the study’s first projection year) to 2014. But overall exposures and notations ticked up only modestly. In short, we’re getting better at tuning out advertising. Since the mid-20th century, we’ve dramatically increased and diversified our media exposure. Television was still a novelty back in 1945, and the Internet was decades off. Yet, as opportunities to internalize marketing messages have multiplied, we’ve held back. For better or worse, we’re a savvy bunch.
Most in-person focus groups wrap up in one to three hours. In rare cases, I’ve seen half-day or full-day engagements. Unless they look compelling, I avoid those, as I can’t spare four to eight hours during the middle of the workday. Focus group participants also need to budget time for screening and qualification. It typically takes five to 10 minutes to complete a screening survey. Unsuccessful surveys take less time, but since they’re more common, the investment adds up. Follow-up interviews can take 10 to 15 minutes. And then there’s time spent traveling to and from the focus groups. Potential Compensation
The single biggest determinant of the size of a focus group incentive is the engagement’s length. In my experience, the rule of thumb is $50 to $75 per scheduled hour – so, $100 to $150 for a two-hour engagement, $150 to $225 for a three-hour engagement, and so on. In high-cost areas, such as San Francisco and New York City, hourly compensation may be higher. Subject matter plays a role too – sensitive topics, such as health and hygiene, may command higher incentives. If the client’s screening criteria produce an exceedingly small or specialized sample, participants who make the cut may earn more. For instance, I’ve seen day-long focus groups geared toward participants with specific medical conditions paying upwards of $1,000, and 90-minute focus groups for physicians paying $200 ($133 per hour). Remember, these “per hour” rates apply to your scheduled time only. Time spent in transit to the interview site and filling out paperwork doesn’t count. Participants usually receive their incentive after the study ends. In my experience, you need to affirm (by signature or initial) that you’ve received your payment before leaving the premises, since cash and gift card payments aren’t traceable to individuals.
The big advantage of online consumer panel participation is flexibility. You can serve on a panel from the comfort of your own home (or anywhere), on your own schedule. If you’re required to complete a time-sensitive survey or respond to live moderator questions, you usually have hours or days to do so. And, if you’re expected to be present for real-time virtual conversations, you’ll know about them well in advance. Your total time commitment will vary depending on the nature of the panel. Groups of the sort Scholz managed are more time-consuming – several hours per month, at minimum. Survey panels with limited participation requirements (or none at all) are more laid-back. You can take advantage of those whenever you feel like it. Potential Compensation
On an hourly basis, online panels aren’t as lucrative as in-person focus groups. It’s unrealistic to expect to earn more than $15 to $20 per hour, on average, taking online surveys or participating in panel discussions. Highly specialized or detailed surveys pay better, but they’re rarer. Incentive pay comes after the successful completion of a survey or discussion, often in point form. You may need to save up your points until you hit a minimum redemption threshold – say, the equivalent of $10 or $20.
If your at-home product testing engagement simply requires you to swap out a product you already use for one you’re being asked to test, the time commitment is minimal. For instance, during my soap-testing engagement, I changed nothing about my shower routine other than the soap. At the end, I completed a 10-minute survey. Coupled with the screening survey, the experience set me back about 20 minutes in all. Other product testing engagements can be more time-consuming. If you’re selected to test a more complicated product with a steeper learning curve, or to provide extensive feedback or documentation about your experience during and after the testing period, you’ll need to set aside hours – perhaps entire chunks of multiple days. The project brief should clearly outline your testing responsibilities. Read it carefully before accepting the gig. Potential Compensation
Most at-home product testing gigs aren’t lucrative. My soap study paid the equivalent of $3, plus a free bar of soap – barely worth my while, even for the relatively low time investment. More exacting engagements can pay substantially more, but the hourly rates still don’t approach in-person focus groups. Compensation usually comes in point form, after you’ve completed the project-ending survey.
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By Brian Martucci Date September 14, 2021FEATURED PROMOTION
Looking for new opportunities to increase your income? If you haven’t already checked out our blockbuster article on the 11 Best Ways to Make Money From Home, do it now. I guarantee you’ll find at least one active or passive income stream that aligns with your interests and skills. You might also be interested in opportunities for folks willing to venture outside their homes. Driving for ridesharing apps such as Uber and Lyft are classic examples. If you’re looking for opportunities that offer the best of both worlds, earning extra income by participating in market research may be for you. With options to work at-home or in-person, I’ll show you how much you can earn, how to participate, and when to take caution.How Market Research Works
In a blockbuster 2014 study, “America’s Media Usage & Ad Exposure: 1945-2014,” Media Dynamics estimated that modern Americans are exposed to 362 discrete advertisements over nearly 10 hours of daily media exposure. Of those 362 exposures, 153 were “noted” – defined as “attract[ing] the audience’s full attention for a few seconds or more.”Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations have an average return of 397%. For $79 (or just $1.52 per week), join more than 1 million members and don't miss their upcoming stock picks. 30 day money-back guarantee. Sign Up Now Unsurprisingly, Americans’ daily media exposure nearly doubled from 1945 (the study’s first projection year) to 2014. But overall exposures and notations ticked up only modestly. In short, we’re getting better at tuning out advertising. Since the mid-20th century, we’ve dramatically increased and diversified our media exposure. Television was still a novelty back in 1945, and the Internet was decades off. Yet, as opportunities to internalize marketing messages have multiplied, we’ve held back. For better or worse, we’re a savvy bunch.
Market Research Methods and Objectives
Market researchers are willing to pay regular people like us decent money to share subjective opinions about the products and information we consume every day. They then relay those opinions to their clients, who use them to hone their marketing messages and develop new or updated products in the hopes of breaking through the noise and grabbing busy consumers’ attention. I spoke with Liz Scholz, a Minneapolis-based market research professional, to learn more about the art and science of market research – MR, as she calls it. Scholz cautions that MR is not a monolithic discipline. She identifies three main categories, each with discrete objectives: Innovation-Based Research: Innovation-based research seeks feedback on new products, services, or attributes thereof. It can be conducted in focus groups, at home, and in other settings. It’s often hands-on: Participants typically get to try the product or a prototype, sometimes for long periods. I tested a new body soap at home for two weeks before providing feedback on my experience, for instance.Advertising Research: Advertising research seeks feedback on advertising and marketing collateral, including product packaging. It’s conducive to in-person focus groups and online panels, where variably sized groups of participants can consume content (e.g., watch a video ad or examine a prototype label) and provide feedback. Advertising research aims to hone messaging for the client’s or product’s core audience. For instance, I sat on a focus group devoted to beverage container packaging with about a dozen other self-professed coffee drink enthusiasts, answering questions and sharing opinions about more than a dozen subtly different label designs.Consumer Research: Scholz dubs this one “getting to know your consumer” research. Brands use consumer research to “build internal knowledge of the end-user,” she says, “because [they sometimes] don’t know as much as they want to know about their customers.” Consumer research can also target new pools of potential users. For instance, says Scholz, automakers originally designed boxy, utilitarian hatchback crossovers, such as Kia Soul and Scion xB, for millennials. They later learned through consumer research that these vehicles appealed to a hidden demographic: baby boomers, who appreciated their low clearance and ample cargo space. Consumer research is amenable to focus groups, online panels, at-home product testing, and other methodologies.Participant Incentives
Regardless of type, market research almost always pays. Within the industry, study participant compensation is known as “incentive.” For focus group participants, the most common incentives are cash and cash equivalents, such as gift cards. Online panels and at-home product tests may use cash-like currency that can be redeemed for prizes or cash payouts. For instance, Focus Pointe Global, a large market research recruiter with offices in multiple U.S. cities, pays “pointes” to at-home testing subjects. “Pointes” are redeemable for gift cards, cash, and merchandise. Incentives may be taxable. Participants are always responsible for collecting and paying any state or federal tax owed on their incentives. Check with your tax professional.Roles and Study Structure
Most of the magic of market research happens behind the scenes, out of view of participants. That’s how the pros want it. But, in the interest of knowing what they’re getting into, participants should understand the basic roles and structure of a typical MR study: Clients. Clients are consumer brands or authorized representatives thereof (such as advertising agencies). They commission the study, closely monitor its progress, provide input, and exercise executive authority at key points during its lifecycle. However, they’re not responsible for minute-to-minute execution.Market Research Firms. Market research firms develop and populate the study in concert with clients, and they’re responsible for its day-to-day, minute-to-minute execution. They employ or retain project managers, moderators, interviewers, and other professionals without whom market research wouldn’t be possible.Recruiters. Recruiting firms seek out, evaluate, and filter potential study participants. They act as the market research industry’s sales force, pitching consumers on MR’s double-barreled participant proposition: the opportunity to simultaneously earn extra income and influence brands’ decision-making processes. They keep extensive lists of potential participants and notify them whenever their demographic profiles or expressed preferences qualify them for a study opportunity. They serve these prospects with screening surveys designed to measure suitability for the study at hand. And they pass prospects who successfully complete those surveys on to market research firms and clients. As a market research participant, recruiting firm representatives are your primary points of contact. Outside of an actual focus group or online panel discussion, you’ll rarely, if ever, interact with market research firms’ representatives, and never with clients themselves.Participants. Participants comprise the study sample. They’re carefully selected by market research firms, which work in concert with clients to whittle down the pool of prospects who made it through the initial screening process.How to Make Money With Market Research Opportunities
The following market research opportunities all promise compensation in exchange for your honest opinions. That’s about where the similarities end.1 In-Person Focus Groups
If the phrase “focus group” brings to mind a sterile room in which a small group of strangers engages in structured conversation with a trained moderator, you’re on the right track. In a focus group, you’re expected to honestly give your opinions about the subject matter at hand, often with visual or physical aids, and always with the assistance of a human moderator. Moderators are adept at using leading questions to coax responses from shy participants, so you should expect to talk about as much as everyone else. If you’re reticent to speak, the moderator will gently but awkwardly single you out for questioning. Depending on the subject and length of the focus group, the exchange may be broken into different formats, such as small group conversations and written reflections. Focus groups are closely monitored. Most take place in conference rooms with a one-way glass wall, behind which client or ad agency representatives lurk and watch. They’re also videotaped. You’ll be asked at several points to consent to monitoring and recording, including just prior to the group’s scheduled start time. If you’re not okay with sharing your likeness, don’t bother applying. You usually don’t need to bring anything special to a focus group. You’ll be asked to put your phone on silent and refrain from recording the conversation, but probably won’t be asked to surrender it for the duration. You’ll also probably receive note paper and a pen, which you can use to take notes and organize your responses during the conversation. Time CommitmentMost in-person focus groups wrap up in one to three hours. In rare cases, I’ve seen half-day or full-day engagements. Unless they look compelling, I avoid those, as I can’t spare four to eight hours during the middle of the workday. Focus group participants also need to budget time for screening and qualification. It typically takes five to 10 minutes to complete a screening survey. Unsuccessful surveys take less time, but since they’re more common, the investment adds up. Follow-up interviews can take 10 to 15 minutes. And then there’s time spent traveling to and from the focus groups. Potential Compensation
The single biggest determinant of the size of a focus group incentive is the engagement’s length. In my experience, the rule of thumb is $50 to $75 per scheduled hour – so, $100 to $150 for a two-hour engagement, $150 to $225 for a three-hour engagement, and so on. In high-cost areas, such as San Francisco and New York City, hourly compensation may be higher. Subject matter plays a role too – sensitive topics, such as health and hygiene, may command higher incentives. If the client’s screening criteria produce an exceedingly small or specialized sample, participants who make the cut may earn more. For instance, I’ve seen day-long focus groups geared toward participants with specific medical conditions paying upwards of $1,000, and 90-minute focus groups for physicians paying $200 ($133 per hour). Remember, these “per hour” rates apply to your scheduled time only. Time spent in transit to the interview site and filling out paperwork doesn’t count. Participants usually receive their incentive after the study ends. In my experience, you need to affirm (by signature or initial) that you’ve received your payment before leaving the premises, since cash and gift card payments aren’t traceable to individuals.
2 Online Consumer Panels
Online consumer panels are digital collections of individuals who share certain demographic, behavioral, attitudinal, or preferential characteristics in common. Some panel operators have vast capabilities: Survey Sampling International claims to have more than 17 million panelists in at least 90 countries worldwide. However, for panelists, the experience tends to be more intimate. In the U.S., SSI operates OpinionWorld, its consumer-facing survey app. The panelist experience varies considerably. Companies like SSI periodically serve panelists with online surveys for which they’re deemed good fits vis-a-vis client input and automated screening criteria. Other online panels are more formalized. For instance, in addition to moderating in-person focus groups, Scholz has managed online forums that required regular input (via postings and chats) on various issues from a rotating group of long-term panelists – sort of like a time-delayed focus group. Online consumer panels feel more anonymous – your likeness and voice aren’t recorded, for instance, and you rarely, if ever, have to speak with anyone. However, panelists are subject to intense verification procedures: SSI’s process mentions “digital fingerprinting,” “source verification,” “two-factor authentication,” “third-party verification,” “GEO-IP control,” “time stamps,” and more. Unless you’re extremely technically savvy, you can’t conceal your identity from online consumer panel companies. Time CommitmentThe big advantage of online consumer panel participation is flexibility. You can serve on a panel from the comfort of your own home (or anywhere), on your own schedule. If you’re required to complete a time-sensitive survey or respond to live moderator questions, you usually have hours or days to do so. And, if you’re expected to be present for real-time virtual conversations, you’ll know about them well in advance. Your total time commitment will vary depending on the nature of the panel. Groups of the sort Scholz managed are more time-consuming – several hours per month, at minimum. Survey panels with limited participation requirements (or none at all) are more laid-back. You can take advantage of those whenever you feel like it. Potential Compensation
On an hourly basis, online panels aren’t as lucrative as in-person focus groups. It’s unrealistic to expect to earn more than $15 to $20 per hour, on average, taking online surveys or participating in panel discussions. Highly specialized or detailed surveys pay better, but they’re rarer. Incentive pay comes after the successful completion of a survey or discussion, often in point form. You may need to save up your points until you hit a minimum redemption threshold – say, the equivalent of $10 or $20.
3 At-Home Product Testing
At-home product testing is ideal for consumers who like trying new products without paying for them. In my experience, opportunities favor hygiene and beauty products, prepared foods, electronics, and certain apparel items. If you’re signed up with market research recruiters, you’ll periodically receive product testing offers, but you’ll want to sign up with companies that specialize in at-home product testing as well. A standard at-home product test asks you to use the prototype product for a set length of time, usually in a carefully specified manner. In all cases, you’re required to complete a survey after completing the test. Depending on the client’s needs, the length of the test, and the nature of the product, you may need to complete surveys during the test itself or provide other forms of feedback. Certain product tests may require a home interview with a market research professional, but these aren’t common for lower-value hygiene or food products. Assuming this isn’t part of the deal, at-home product testing is the least invasive of the three formats discussed here. Time CommitmentIf your at-home product testing engagement simply requires you to swap out a product you already use for one you’re being asked to test, the time commitment is minimal. For instance, during my soap-testing engagement, I changed nothing about my shower routine other than the soap. At the end, I completed a 10-minute survey. Coupled with the screening survey, the experience set me back about 20 minutes in all. Other product testing engagements can be more time-consuming. If you’re selected to test a more complicated product with a steeper learning curve, or to provide extensive feedback or documentation about your experience during and after the testing period, you’ll need to set aside hours – perhaps entire chunks of multiple days. The project brief should clearly outline your testing responsibilities. Read it carefully before accepting the gig. Potential Compensation
Most at-home product testing gigs aren’t lucrative. My soap study paid the equivalent of $3, plus a free bar of soap – barely worth my while, even for the relatively low time investment. More exacting engagements can pay substantially more, but the hourly rates still don’t approach in-person focus groups. Compensation usually comes in point form, after you’ve completed the project-ending survey.